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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: season · tear · wax · race · scale · swing

  1. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  8. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  9. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  12. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  15. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  16. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  17. Did you ________________ the meat?
  18. David sat on the ________________.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. race — the arms race
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. tear — to rip
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. scale — size or range
  6. tear — from crying
  7. wax — to grow
  8. swing — music
  9. scale — for weighing
  10. tear — from crying
  11. swing — in golf
  12. season — in sport
  13. race — a contest
  14. scale — in music
  15. race — humankind
  16. season — of the year
  17. season — to add flavour
  18. swing — to play on

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com